Harry Potter and his Guardian Angels
by Selena Valentine
Summary: Four Aurors are assigned to protect Harry and his friends from Lord Voldemort... but these guardian angels soon get into loads of trouble of their own... (Draco/Hermione)


Harry Potter and his Guardian Angels

by Selena Valentine

**Disclaimer: **Everything you recognize from the _Harry Potter _series is the property of JK Rowling. Everything you do not recognize--- namely the plot and all the original characters--- is a product of my admittedly twisted imagination and therefore belongs to me. And I am not making any money from this, although, believe me, I would love to.

**Author's Note: **Well, here it is, the first chapter of my very first Harry Potter fanfic. Feel free to correct any grammatical, punctuation, or spelling errors, and please let me know what you think.

Enjoy! :-)

Chapter One 

"Damn it!" exclaimed Chryssanti Muspellheim as the carriage gave a lurch that nearly threw her out of her seat.

This heated outburst provoked various reactions from her fellow passengers. Darley Arabian raised a thin blonde eyebrow, completely nonplussed; Byerly Turk's finely molded lips curved in his trademark smirk; and Godolphin Barb frowned disapprovingly.

"Don't swear, Chryssanti," Godolphin rebuked, sounding like a father correcting an erring child.

"And why not?" said the erring child, tightening her grip on the seat, not wanting another unsteady movement to throw her into Darley's arms--- of course, she wouldn't mind very much if it actually did. "_You _swear."

"I," retorted Godolphin coolly, "am not a young lady."

"Neither is Chryssanti!" Byerly declared, laughing. The jet-black raven that had been perched on his shoulder for nearly an hour, fast asleep, was awakened, much to its displeasure. Valkyrie gave an angry squawk, and then left Byerly's shoulder to settle comfortably on Darley's lap.

Chryssanti stuck her tongue out at Byerly, but refrained from arguing. You couldn't argue with the truth, and he was definitely telling the truth: she was not, and would never be, a lady.

Godolphin sighed, adjusting his spectacles before they slid further down his nose. "It certainly wouldn't hurt for you to act like one once in awhile."

"Honestly!" she cried, throwing up her hands in exasperation. "How on earth can I be all prim and proper when I'm chasing Dark wizards and dodging Unforgivable curses most of the time?"

"She's got a point, Godolphin," said Darley with a chuckle, stroking Valkyrie's soft feathers. "As a member of the Dark Arts Defense League, acting ladylike would probably get her killed."

"Exactly!" Chryssanti stated, nodding.

Godolphin opened his mouth as if to argue, but suddenly, with another impressive lurch, the carriage came to a halt.

Darley looked puzzled. "We can't be there _already, _can we?"

Byerly stuck his head out the window and yelled at the driver, "Hey, you, what's going on? Why'd we stop?"

No answer.

The four passengers looked at one another apprehensively, then, almost in unison, got out their wands. Chryssanti struggled to contain a cold feeling of dread as Godolphin opened the door of the carriage, looking around him cautiously at first, before stepping down onto the ground, followed by Byerly.

Darley hastily scribbled a note on a piece of parchment and tied it to Valkyrie's leg. "Bring this to Dumbledore immediately, Valkyrie." No sooner had he spoken the words when the enormous black raven flapped its wings and flew out the window.

"What did you tell Dumbledore?" Chryssanti asked, but Darley had already gotten out of the carriage. She rolled her eyes and followed suit.

They were in a forest, a forest silvered by moonlight. Tall, gnarled, ancient trees surrounded them and the carriage, looking mysterious and threatening at the same time. There was no sound except for the occasional hoot of an owl and the wind rustling through the leaves.

"Where the hell did the driver go?" Byerly demanded in a hushed whisper.

Godolphin's sharp eyes widened, detecting a trace of movement between the trees. "Darley, watch out!" he cried, his voice breaking the almost sacred silence of the night.

With the reflexes born of his training as an Auror, Darley stepped aside just as a jet of white light shot out from some invisible source. The spell whizzed past him, nearly grazing his shoulder, and hit the carriage, blowing it into bits.

"Good Lord!" Chryssanti exclaimed, her violet eyes widening.

Several figures appeared from behind the trees, clad in dark robes, their faces obscured by hoods. They formed a large circle around the four Aurors.

"It's an ambush!" Byerly muttered.

"How clever of you," said Godolphin wryly.

One of the figures spoke. "There is no escape," it said in a deep, ominous voice, full of dark promise.

"What have you done with the driver?" Chryssanti asked, controlling the slight quaver in her voice.

"He is dead," said the deep voice, then added menacingly, "and soon you shall be, too."

Byerly smirked, no sign of fear on his face. "Rather presumptuous of you, don't you think?"

"Do not underestimate our capabilities, boy," spat out another voice, one so raspy it sent chills down Chryssanti's spine.

"And do not underestimate ours," Darley said softly, his blue eyes gleaming dangerously in the silver light of the moon.

_"Alcestis!"_

A stream of light burst from one hooded figure's wand, aimed straight at Chryssanti. She shouted out the countercurse, then retaliated with a spell of her own. _"Venomi caven!"_

The figure dropped to the ground with a loud, painful moan as the Bleeding Spell hit him directly in the chest. Dark blood spurted out, tainting the silvery grass.

What followed next was a jumble of blows and curses. Darley, confronted with two Dark wizards, took one out with a well-placed Flamethrower spell and rendered the other one unconscious with a stunning right hook. Byerly managed to avoid getting Stunned, and kicked the offender in the shin, causing him to howl in pain before Godolphin put him out of his misery with the Avada Kedavra curse.

Chryssanti gasped as one particularly large figure blocked her spell and advanced upon her, causing her to back up against a tree trunk.

"You against me now, little girl," sneered the figure. "What are you going to do, cry for mommy?"

_"Stupefy!"_

The attacker slumped to the ground, right at Chryssanti's feet. She smiled gratefully at her savior. "Thanks."

"No problem," said Godolphin, carefully wiping his wand with the sleeve of his robe.

"That was easy, wasn't it?" Byerly said with a chuckle, carelessly stepping on the stomach on one of the fallen figures.

Darley pushed the sleeve of the robe of a Stunned wizard past his elbow and let out a strangled cry of surprise. Stamped on the man's forearm, like a vivid red tattoo, was a skull with a snake protruding from its mouth--- the Dark Mark.

"Death Eaters!" ejaculated Chryssanti. "But… why would Death Eaters attack us? It isn't Voldemort's nature to order raids, unless…" She gasped, coming to a frightening conclusion.

"Unless he knows about us and what our mission is," finished Darley, deathly pale.

Byerly stroked his chin thoughtfully. "It's very top secret. Only Dumbledore and a few members of the staff know about it. How could he have found out…?"

There was an uneasy silence, and then Godolphin said abruptly, "We shall discuss that with Dumbledore later. For now, we must get to Hogwarts."

"But how?" Chryssanti asked. "They blew up the carriage."

"And you can't Apparate into the school grounds," said Darley.

"If my guest is right, we're somewhere inside the Forbidden Forest," said Godolphin. "The castle shouldn't be far. We can walk."

"_Walk?_" three astounded voices exclaimed at once.

Godolphin gave them all a level look. "Is there another alternative?"

He knew all too well that there was none.

A raven flew into the Great Hall, noticed only by the few students who were not totally engrossed in their food or deep in conversation with their friends. Valkyrie landed in front of Dumbledore, then stuck out its leg.

The Headmaster untied the piece of parchment and unrolled it. His brows lifted and he muttered a grave, "I see."

"What is it, Albus?" McGonagall questioned curiously.

"It appears, Minerva," replied Dumbledore with a twinkle in his blue eyes, "that our guardian angels are going to be a bit late."


End file.
